Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Did you know that first year nurses experience the highest turnover of any group?
That reality is staggering, but it also tells us something important.
You are not alone and your growth matters.
Welcome to the All One Nurse Podcast, where we are bridging the gap between the stethoscope and the soul through real nursing stories and nursing conversations.
Here, our mission is simple. To get back to the human side of healthcare.
I'm your host, nurse Chanel Tompkins, and I'm also your mentor and nurse educator. And this space was created just for you to breathe, to learn, to grow, and most importantly, feel supported no matter where you are in your nursing journey.
So take a deep breath and let's step into your next breakthrough. Welcome back to the All One Nurse Podcast, where purpose meets practice and faith meets mentorship.
And real nursing stories remind us that we are not alone on this journey. I'm your host, Chanel Tompkins, and today's conversation is one that will encourage every nursing student, new nurse, experienced nurse and healthcare professional who has ever wondered, can I still do this? Is there still room for me? And can my story still be used for impact?
Today I'm joined by registered nurse Naomi James, founder of Building Better Nurses. And she's a nurse, coach, heart health advocate, wife, mother, and a living testimony of resilience.
And this conversation is so honest, faith filled and full of wisdom, man. We talk about critical care, burnout, work, life balance, mentorship, advocacy, black maternal health, and the beauty of redesigning your nursing career. Correction, redesigning and realigning your nursing journey. And Naomi is just a breath of fresh air because she had to do just that when things didn't go as planned for her.
So whether you are just trying to pass your next exam, survive your first year of nursing school, or reignite your passion for nursing, or figure out what is next in your journey in your career, this episode is definitely for you.
Before we jump in, make sure that you subscribe to the All One Nurse podcast so that you don't miss another episode.
Share this with a friend as well as connect with All One Nurse through our private Facebook community.
Now let's get into this beautiful and inspiring conversation with registered nurse Mrs. Naomi James. Welcome, Ms. Naomi James. How are you doing?
[00:03:22] Speaker B: I'm doing good. I don't have many complaints.
[00:03:26] Speaker A: Awesome. Welcome to the All One Earth podcast.
[00:03:29] Speaker B: Thank you for having me. I am so excited to be here.
[00:03:32] Speaker A: We always start out with your origin story. Just tell us a little bit about you. Who is Mrs. Naomi James and what drew you to nursing?
[00:03:42] Speaker B: So, origin, I guess origin, nursing story, I fell in love with. My big cousin is a nurse, and she's actually still my mentor.
[00:03:52] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:03:53] Speaker B: And she came to visit, and, I mean, she just looked amazing. She had a Burberry trench coat on. She stepped out of a BMW, and she had this beautiful handbag. And I don't know why. I was only, like, 13 at the time, and I don't know why, but the first thing I asked her, I was like, why? Where do you work? What do you do?
And she was like, nay, I'm a nurse. Your mom. Your mom didn't tell you? I thought your mom told you. And I was like, no, I didn't know that. I was like, what is that? What do you do? And, I mean, she was just telling me what she does, and I just fell in love with everything she was saying. And I was like, I want to be a nurse. And she's like, I thought you wanted to be a pediatrician. I was like, no, I want to be a nurse.
[00:04:33] Speaker A: That's awesome. That's awesome. When you decided to go into nursing, what.
What route did you take? Adn. Bsn.
[00:04:42] Speaker B: So she coached me to her route. So the second I told her I wanted to be a nurse, she made sure when I was in high school, I took health occupations. And then she wrote a letter to, like, the National High School Honor Society, like, scholars Honor society, and they really pushed BSN track. And so, yeah, when I graduated high school, I went straight into college and did bsn.
[00:05:07] Speaker A: Did you know what you wanted to do coming through nursing school? Like, what specialty or what background of nursing?
[00:05:14] Speaker B: Yeah. So when I joined the National High School Scholars Honor Society, we went on a. Like, a nursing symposium trip when I was a sophomore in high school, and we went to Boston, and I got to shadow a nurse at Boston, Mass. And she was an ICU nurse, and. And I was like, I want to do this. This is. It was. It was intense, but it was amazing. I literally, like, she just put all the dots together for me, and I was like, yes, I want to go into critical care.
[00:05:45] Speaker A: Wow. And so you actually did a field trip during your high school, or was
[00:05:50] Speaker B: it during high school? Yes, yes. A sophomore in high school. We got to do a nursing symposium trip for, like, four days, and we were in Boston, Massachusetts, and we got to tour Northeastern, we got to tour Harvard, we got to tour Boston, Mass. And I mean, we got. We. You know, we got to, like, practice with simulators and actually, like, know what it felt like to be a nursing student but also be a nurse. And it was Just so cool.
[00:06:17] Speaker A: Well, I think that is so awesome that even in high school, you got the opportunity to go to a nursing symposium. Like, that's awesome. And I hope that's something that more that someone listening will create that opportunity for current high school.
[00:06:32] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:06:33] Speaker A: Yes. And our stories kind of kind of align because I first learned about nursing from my big cousin, and God raised her, so she was. She was a big cousin to me. And it was like, again, like you said, like middle school. I want to say I was young, and she kind of told me what to do, and. But the only thing was she was into labor and delivery. I didn't want to do that, so I actually wanted to do oncology because of my grandmother, her history of cancer.
[00:07:02] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:07:02] Speaker A: But that didn't happen either, because cancer has no respect of persons.
I wasn't prepared for the young because
[00:07:11] Speaker B: 40s break your heart apart.
[00:07:13] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:07:14] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:07:14] Speaker A: And so CVICU ended up being my. My sweet spot. Yes, of course. So critical care. We were both ready for the excitement of critical care.
To critically think. So how long? No, let me go back.
What were some of your challenges coming through the BSN program for my aspiring nurses.
[00:07:36] Speaker B: My goodness. So my first year was my worst year. My first semester. I almost failed out of the nursing program. And I remember I went into the midterm in fundamentals with a D average.
Wow. And, yeah. And my advisor was like, listen, we need to find you another major. You're not going to make it. This is not the profession for you. Like, you know, they were giving up on me. All my professors was like, listen, this ain't gonna work. You're not gonna make it stop. And so. Yes. And so my lab instructor came in, and she was like, well, if she. In some way. If she, like, makes the A on the next test and makes an A on the final, and if she makes an A on all the quizzes and if she gets full credit for the.
You know, for the extra credit assignment, and if she gets an A on the project, she could actually pass the class. And so they forgot they were talking to a perfectionist. And I heard a plan.
Yes.
Yes.
[00:08:32] Speaker A: Come on.
[00:08:32] Speaker B: They were talking to a type A personality, and I heard a plan. So I was like, hold on. Wait a minute. I could do that. I could work on that.
So I took all those resources that they gave me, all those books, everything. I buckled down. I did it. I. I did that plan to a T. I passed every test with an A. Even one of them. I passed exactly. With a 90.
I did every quiz with an A. I turned in my extra credit early and got every point.
I turned in my project early and got an A. I got a 97, and I passed fundamentals within 80.1. Won't he do it? You understand me?
[00:09:13] Speaker A: Yes.
Yes.
[00:09:16] Speaker B: So she spoke that into existence, and I think she didn't even know what she was speaking, but what I heard was a plan. I was like, hold on. Wait a minute. I could do that.
[00:09:26] Speaker A: Come on.
She. Instead of counting you out, she was
[00:09:32] Speaker B: the only person that came into the room and was like, hold on. Wait a minute. She might.
[00:09:37] Speaker A: Oh, my God. Just an opportunity. And I love that she was optimistic, because sometimes that's what we need, somebody who's hopeful.
Like, have a little faith in me.
[00:09:46] Speaker B: Right.
[00:09:46] Speaker A: She.
[00:09:46] Speaker B: I mean, and it was a lot. Don't get me wrong. That's a lot to do, all of that. But it. The way she presented it was like, wait a minute. This could maybe work.
[00:09:56] Speaker A: Yes. And you made it work. That's awesome.
[00:10:00] Speaker B: And I made it work. I mean, the Lord made it work. Let's be honest. He sprinkled that miracle seasoning on that. Hallelujah. You know, But, I mean, we did it. We believed it, we took it, we received it, we did our work, and it worked.
[00:10:15] Speaker A: What is. Where it says you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you.
[00:10:20] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:10:20] Speaker A: And so you put in the work. You had the faith because she gave you. She gave you the plan.
[00:10:26] Speaker B: Yeah, she.
[00:10:27] Speaker A: And she did put in the work, and you got it done.
Percent I was listening to a TikTok, and the nursing student was like, I just want to give up. Because nobody tells you just how complicated nursing school can be. Like, how difficult it is, and then to turn around, and then relationships are falling apart, whether that's with family dynamics or, you know, intimate relationships.
[00:10:52] Speaker B: All of it friends.
[00:10:53] Speaker A: And it's like she was just. Seemed to be in spiritual warfare. And, yes, it made me want to do a stitch about it. Like, hey, no weapon formed against you shall prosper. And if it's hard, they're gonna form, yes, if it's hard, do it hard. If it's easy. When it's easy, do it easy. But either way, get it done and be clear on what your why is. When you're clear on what your why is, you can see everything else as a distraction. And I know it's heartbreaking when you will expect people to be happy for you because you're taking on this. This opportunity to better yourself.
But you know what? That's okay, because when you Succeed, that's okay. You know, they will come back around.
[00:11:37] Speaker B: They gotta see you win. That's it.
[00:11:39] Speaker A: The goal is the goal. Yes, the goal is the goal.
[00:11:43] Speaker B: But yeah, nursing school, you're. You're head down and focused and people who don't, that, they don't understand that. And some people do take it personally. They think you're too busy. They think you study too much.
You know, you don't have time for anything.
But I mean, it is a medical program. People.
[00:12:00] Speaker A: Yeah.
Like just put it out there.
Yeah.
[00:12:05] Speaker B: Like it is what it is. At the end of the day, we're learning how to take care of people's bodies.
[00:12:11] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:12:12] Speaker B: And their lives are on the line in their lives, literally. So, yes. It requires every ounce of our attention for the 18 to 24 months we got to give it to it.
[00:12:24] Speaker A: Yes, yes, that's. I'm glad you said it just like that. Now, with other challenges that you may have encountered, what would you tell your younger self for the new nurses that are coming out? Bachelor's prepared or associates prepared? Because RN is an RN to me.
[00:12:47] Speaker B: I actually, and this is funny, but now 16 years in, I would actually tell myself it's okay to take my time and not rush. You know, I was 21 years old with an RN license and I realized that I didn't really understand a lot of what I was doing.
My critical thinking skills really weren't there. And I probably made a lot of mistakes that I would not have had to make if I would have just given myself a little more time instead of rushing and running into critical care.
I realize now that nursing isn't going anywhere.
I had plenty of time to take my time and find my specialty. I didn't have to force a specialty immediately. The second I got out of nursing school, I could have taken my time before I went into critical care because I went in so early that I kind of burned myself out early too.
[00:13:45] Speaker A: It's funny that you say that. I've been having conversations with a current nurse who's. She just feel like she needs to get re centered.
And I told her, whether you leave this job, the ICU and go do something else, if you really don't just get back grounded, then you may not be satisfied wherever you go because you want to move around for the right reasons.
[00:14:09] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:14:11] Speaker A: Instead of, oh, I'm just going to transfer. It's just like leaving a town because you don't like the people, you're going to always be moving around because of individuals, you know. But I think she was Pretty much getting burned out. And so.
Yeah, I love that you said that. Now with icu, how long.
What all did you do? Or do you still just currently work icu? Are you just ICU to the day you die?
[00:14:34] Speaker B: So, yeah, I did it. I did it. Kind of all of it. Um, I would say the. The first six, seven years of my career, I worked. I started in icu, trauma step down at Grady Health. Grady Memorial. That's what it was called, you know, back then. It's Grady Health now. Yeah.
And so I worked in trauma ICU, stepped down, and then I went into SICU, I went into MICU, I went into CVICU, and then in 2015, I had my second open heart surgery. Wow. And so that changed everything for me because I had to be in rehab for nine and a half months and I couldn't work. And, you know, everyone was telling me, you know, leave nursing alone. You're not gonna be able to go back. You know, you need to do something else. Probably go into case management, all this other stuff. And I just didn't want to accept that. I was like, no, I'm only 27 years old.
I don't wanna just leave nursing. I love nursing. Like, I literally still love taking care of patients. And so, you know, two things can be true. The truth was that physically, my body couldn't handle going back to cvicu, and so I've never been back.
Right. But I didn't have to let go of bedside practice, so I fell in love with my new critical care, and I became a PACU nurse.
Awesome. Yes. And so PACU became my happy place. That became my new critical care. I got to use all of my critical care skills in pacu. In post anesthesia care. I got certified as a post anesthesia nurse.
[00:16:10] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:16:11] Speaker B: You know, so that was my new rebirth. That was my new happy place where I could safely take care of patients. I didn't have to put too much stress on my body, and I could still use all of my critical care knowledge.
[00:16:23] Speaker A: Yes. I love that.
I love that. So you're just gonna just pop out the second heart surgery? So tell us.
[00:16:31] Speaker B: Listen, tell us more about this.
[00:16:37] Speaker A: Let's take a moment to breathe and remember this truth. God never calls us into a space without equipping us for it. Whether you're a new nurse finding your footing, or a seasoned nurse rediscovering your purpose, His Grace meets you right where you are.
And sometimes the journey feels heavy. The expectations, the learning curve, the pressure to be everything for everyone.
But Scripture reminds us of this in Isaiah 41:10. Fear not, for I am with you. Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
And as Naomi and I talk about growth, mentorship, and navigating this profession with integrity, I want you to remember this and hear me again.
You are not walking alone.
You're not walking alone. God is shaping you. He's stretching you and preparing you.
Right. For rooms that you have not even stepped foot in.
So let this faith filled reminder, faith field intermission note remind you that you don't have to let. You don't have to have it all figured out.
Just remain faithful, teachable and connected to the one who called you. Let's get back to our awesome conversation with Mrs. Naomi.
[00:18:19] Speaker B: Okay, so I was born with heart disease. I was born with a congenital heart defect called tetralogy of Fallot. And so I had my first open heart surgery, of course, as a little brand new baby, 2, 3 months old.
And then I did the unthinkable. You know what they, what they used to tell you when you had open heart surgery was that you should never carry your own kids.
Right. Because your heart just can't take it. Well, I carried my own baby and then my heart kind of failed. So I had to have the second open heart surgery. And it just was a whole entire life change. It was a life changing event. I was 27 years old with a 2 year old with a husband, you know, having open heart surgery. And it just changed everything. It kind of put everything on hold. But I didn't want to let go of. I didn't even know everyone was telling me to let go of nursing and just find something else to do. I was like, no, I cannot. There's gotta be a way that I can still take care of patients. And so that's how I fell in love with PACU. And then in 2023, I was honored by the American Heart association as a go red for women campaign survivor. And I carried my second baby. I carried my daughter. So. And I was pregnant. I was the only. I was the only woman who's ever been pregnant on a campaign. So, you know, they get to see this beautiful young black woman living with heart disease carrying a baby. And so. And you know, that was a national campaign, that was a national platform. So that opened so many doors because I got to not just be a nurse, but I got to now also be a heart health advocate. Yes.
[00:19:49] Speaker A: Oh, my God. When I say I just get chills because that, that's just a. It's a blessing.
It's a blessing. It's a miracle.
[00:19:58] Speaker B: It is.
[00:19:58] Speaker A: You just show me what. Not only did you have one child, you had to.
You had two.
[00:20:03] Speaker B: I had two babies.
Carried them two terms, and I carried the second one on a second open heart surgery. So, yeah, I just, you know, and that's why my business, what I do with nurses is so serious to me, because I want nurses to know that you truly can have the career that you want. You can have the career of your dreams. Like, you can create a beautiful life and a beautiful career.
Yes. In spite of that, you can center it around your work life, balance, you know, you don't let. Don't let anyone block you, you know, put you in a box, put you in a hole there, literally. I believe I have learned, I have lived, that there are no ceilings in nursing. You can pivot, shift, go around, go up, go down, however you want to do it. There is something in the nursing field that you can still do with your license, with. With your knowledge, with your skills, make good money and be happy.
[00:21:01] Speaker A: Come on. You're preaching now, Mrs. James.
You are preaching as a patient during your time with your second heart surgery because now you're an adult, Right. And so you're having to experience receiving
[00:21:18] Speaker B: care, all of it.
[00:21:20] Speaker A: What was that like for you?
[00:21:23] Speaker B: That opened my heart wide open with compassion for nurses.
My cvicu nurse, my day shift nurse, when I finally woke up, you know, when they took me off the vent and I was like, coherent. My day shift nurse, she had two of me, which I know is a. No, no, she should not have had two fresh opens.
[00:21:45] Speaker A: Oh, my God.
[00:21:45] Speaker B: And I could feel her stress. I could feel her intensity, and I felt for her. I remember I was praying for her as she got through that because I could tell she was having a hard day trying to, you know, tear herself between two people.
[00:21:59] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:22:00] Speaker B: I remember praying for my night shift cvicu nurse. He was so nice and he was so kind and just the way he explained and taught everything. I'll never forget my. The step down part. Step down nurses that had me, like, for the next three days after I left cvicu, two of them were best friends. They were in corporate banking, and they left corporate banking to become nurses.
And you could tell they loved each other and had this, like, sister relationship. And they were just Kiki in and they were, you know, I remember them like, I just, like, my heart just was wide open. I was like, man, these are my people. Like, these are people who Love taking care of people.
[00:22:41] Speaker A: Yes. You had an awesome experience, you know,
[00:22:43] Speaker B: and they're here because they want to be, you know. And so, yeah, like, being a patient, it just opened my heart with compassion because I had taken care of CVICU patients, but I really realized I did not know what they were going through. Open heart surgery is tough. It's so tough. Not just physically, but mentally, emotionally, you know, having to wear the zipper scar now for the rest of your life. Like, I had a zipper scar, but because it happened when I was a baby, it was basically invisible. You really couldn't see it. My mom made sure she healed up my skin real good. So you could not see my zipper scar. But the second time, the second cut going through the same line, you know, my skin is different. I'm older. I have keloid skin now. So that zipper scar is visible. I mean, if I wear anything exposed in here, you could be standing across the room. You're gonna come over there and be like, did you have open heart surgery? And now I gotta share my own testimony. And it's like I was just in here to eat, right?
So all of the psychological aspects of it, everything that I didn't think about being a patient, you know, my husband having to wash my hair, having to help me bathe, all those months that I couldn't pick up my own child. Cause I didn't have the upper body strength, I had to restrengthen my upper body. Having your chest wired shut, then they gotta take the wires out. Like, all of it, all the things that I just did not think about as the nurse going through all of it again, it just gave me so much compassion for my patients and. But also for nurses. I was like, wow.
[00:24:20] Speaker A: Yeah, that.
That sounds like a lot. It sounds like a lot.
[00:24:26] Speaker B: Yeah. It was a time that I'll never forget. My. I mean, if I cough right now, you should see the look on my husband's face. Like, he. You could tell that that traumatized him seeing me like that.
[00:24:36] Speaker A: And it says a lot about him too. Like, to make it through that season together and to be all in. Would you say yalls bun or like, it's just like, even better because of that. Like, you know, how not better, but stronger because that's what I think. It builds resilience.
[00:24:53] Speaker B: It does. It shows you. It shows you a lot. Because unfortunately, I have taken care of people that have spouses that really don't know how to show up during that time.
They just don't. They. They really don't know what to do. So they kind of do nothing or they just don't show up at all.
And so that. That for sicker, you know, in sickness and health, that's a time where you really get to see how someone shows up when you're at your worst and you literally can't do anything for yourself.
[00:25:27] Speaker A: Yeah. Especially like, not only could you not help, but as far as the day to day things that you. That he was probably used to, but.
[00:25:37] Speaker B: Yeah, used to.
[00:25:38] Speaker A: You also can't even. During that time, you also couldn't even, like you said, hold your child physically.
[00:25:45] Speaker B: I'm using a walker. I was in a wheel. You first you start off in the wheelchair, then you're in the walker. You know, then you can walk on your own. But certain stuff like you can't lift anything. You can't. You can't use a broom. You can't use a. You can't push a vacuum.
And you can't reach my hands up above my head.
[00:26:03] Speaker A: And no driving.
[00:26:05] Speaker B: Like, no driving. No.
So, you know, just. And you really get to see your people, like my mom, my husband, my grandmother, my girlfriends like that I've been friends with from high school. Like, those are the people that were in. Were at my bedside bringing me ice cream because they were like, well, we stopped get you some ice cream. We might as well. I mean, it's not like you're on diet restrictions.
It is. So I'm a sweet eater. So they know candy and ice cream. We're friends.
[00:26:40] Speaker A: Oh, Lord.
[00:26:41] Speaker B: Right. So they brought my butter pecan. They know that's my favorite flavor. Or pistachio. That's my other favorite.
[00:26:48] Speaker A: Now I can get with you with the butter pecan.
And I call it butter pecan. That's how country.
[00:26:53] Speaker B: Butter pecan. Yes, ma'. Am.
[00:26:55] Speaker A: Butter pecan, but yes. But my favorite sweets is strawberry cake. And my birthday is coming up, so that's what I'm looking forward to.
[00:27:03] Speaker B: Really, Naomi, no, don't you tell me your birthday's coming up, because my birthday's on Monday. So when's your birthday?
[00:27:09] Speaker A: The 16th. Yeah.
[00:27:10] Speaker B: Goodness, no.
[00:27:11] Speaker A: So we're both Geminis. Yay.
[00:27:13] Speaker B: We're Gemini twins. Yes.
We are going to have good birthdays. Do you understand me?
[00:27:19] Speaker A: Yes. Yeah.
[00:27:21] Speaker B: My fa. My favorite cake. I'm not a cake eater, but if I get a cake, and the one I'm gonna get for my birthday, I get it every year, is the chantilly cake from Publix with the fruit.
It is like a decadent fruitcake. Yes, it is a decadent fruitcake. That is seasonal. They only do it during the summer. And they put the freshest berries inside. And on top of this cake with Chantilly cream. It is divine.
[00:27:46] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:27:47] Speaker B: Heavenly. Look at you.
[00:27:48] Speaker A: The way you said it. I must try it. I'm try. I'm let you know too.
Yes. Thank you for sharing your experience as a patient during that time. I love when they get to hear just the human side of things.
And when it's your experience, you know, there's no making it up like it happened. And this is what I experienced and it happened. It really helps give them some insight.
Well, I just thank God because God is so good and all that he does. The way he covers us, the way he allows us to come through challenging times that I believe birth purpose a lot of times. And even with resilience on the other side of that sometime with pain or trials comes your purpose.
[00:28:36] Speaker B: Yes, you're gonna come. You're gonna come down that mountain with purpose and principles and a plan. You're gonna come back down that mountain with everything.
[00:28:47] Speaker A: Naomi, tell us what all do you do now and tell us a little bit about your business.
[00:28:52] Speaker B: Oh my goodness. So I do primarily PACU nursing or just any type of perioperative care. I can do pre op, post op pacu. So that's like my clinical, you know, still working as a clinical practice nurse. And I do like peer in maybe one or two days a week.
And then outside of that, I am 100% all into being the owner and the founder of Building Better Nurses.
I love helping nurses. I really love working with nurses to achieve their career goals and their dreams and create the career that they want. Focusing a lot on work, life balance and professional well being.
And so I do one on one coaching. I also work with healthcare organizations and leaders to really focus on like nurse empowerment, how to utilize nurse empowerment correctly, ways to improve staff retention, ways to love on their nurses, strengthen their organization. Like it's all about loving our nurses. Okay.
[00:30:00] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:30:01] Speaker B: We are going to empower them in every way possible. And then with my, you know, just with my story and my heart health advocacy, that has birthed a platform of public speaking. So I do a lot of public speaking engagements, especially during heart Month, especially during February.
That's when I'm really doing a lot of heart health advocacy.
Also during Black Maternity Month. Black Maternity Week, but just during the month of like maternal health.
So I do a lot of public speaking on that. Is that, that is in March, March. Well, it's the first, it's the first week of April.
[00:30:36] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:30:36] Speaker B: But yeah, it's like the end. End of March focuses on, like, a lot of maternity, but then the first week of April really is the, like the Black Maternal Health week.
[00:30:45] Speaker A: Yes. Which is also.
Your story is so inspiring because we know that the mortality rate in black people.
[00:30:54] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:30:55] Speaker A: And maternal health is like.
[00:30:57] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:30:58] Speaker A: So many more times. I don't want to get the quote wrong.
[00:31:01] Speaker B: We're not going to go into the numbers because we would be scared. It's scary. The numbers are scary. It's unimaginable. It literally is. And it's crazy because I'll do those speaking engagements and I'll have so many black women come up to me and just tell me things about their story, carrying their child that are unimaginable, things that I cannot believe that they have experienced. I cannot believe that these things are happening in this time, in this day and age with all the access to care that we should have, all the technology.
But these are real events. These are real events of just the either lack of care, neglect of care, improper care, all the categories.
[00:31:45] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. It's definitely. It's scary.
It's scary.
[00:31:50] Speaker B: It is.
[00:31:51] Speaker A: And so you, you actually advocate on so many levels. You're an advocate on so many levels in so many areas, whether you, you identify it or not. Like, you, you know, you, you are the, the advocate with a go red advocate or a go red for women's advocate. Let me say that correctly.
[00:32:12] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:32:13] Speaker A: But also maternal health.
Right.
[00:32:16] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:32:17] Speaker A: With your own history, that alone just shows that, okay, we, we can do right. We can get it right.
[00:32:25] Speaker B: Yes, we can. We can get it right.
[00:32:27] Speaker A: We can get it right. We can get it right. And One thing that Dr. Danielle McKamey said in my interview with her recently was the. Her DNPS of Color summit that's coming up in Detroit.
[00:32:40] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:32:41] Speaker A: She said they're going to focus a lot on the hackathon to where basically she's saying that what's going on right now isn't working for us. So what can we do differently?
[00:32:52] Speaker B: And differently.
[00:32:53] Speaker A: That's how I kind of look at everything now. Like, okay, this isn't working. What can we do differently?
[00:32:58] Speaker B: This isn't working. What can we do differently?
[00:33:00] Speaker A: Yes. For maternal. With the mortality rate in maternal health, let alone as black women who. That should be a joyous moment.
Not, it should be baby go home and mother doesn't. You know, that's scary.
And that's. It is devastating. So I, I'm, I'm glad that you have embraced sharing your story and really getting out there and speaking to your experience and helping to bring awareness.
Because I think that sometimes it can be easy to just be like, okay, let me go back to what I just been doing and not really worry about impact. Impacting others, or what I like to call it, preserving others.
Because when we go through hard times, we know that we're not the only one.
And so how do you help others who may come behind you or make it easier for others who may come behind you?
Because as we're in this world, we're not of it, but we're going to experience.
[00:34:07] Speaker B: We are going to experience the things.
[00:34:09] Speaker A: Life.
Right. The things that go on in this world, you know, staying prayed up, of course. But I think we just have to remember whatever our much is, whatever cars that we're dealt, how do we take that and play our hand well, but not only for ourselves, but for the sake of others.
For the sake of others. To help preserve them in their. In their challenges. And some of the same challenges.
[00:34:35] Speaker B: Same challenges.
[00:34:36] Speaker A: Yeah. That they may face.
[00:34:38] Speaker B: That they have.
Yes. Okay.
[00:34:41] Speaker A: I get emotional when I think about stuff too long, child.
[00:34:45] Speaker B: We both do. Because it's like, you know, I was always afraid to share my story, but the American Heart association, they were just. They were so great with helping me and all my heart sisters. Because every year it's a campaign of you and other women. Right?
[00:34:59] Speaker A: Gotcha.
[00:35:00] Speaker B: And they were just so helpful, teaching us how to share our story. And what I saw was impact, immediate impact. Like, every time someone heard my story, it changed how they thought about stuff, how they felt about stuff, how they wanted to take ownership of their health. So many women with heart disease that were now hopeful that they could have a baby, that they could carry a baby, that they could bring a baby to term.
And so that's what helped me because I was scared out of my mind. I was like, what did I just sign up for?
I'm. People, like, nationally people are going to hear me tell my story. Like, I'm in Times Square, all over the billboard, like, got millions of views on my YouTube video. I was like, what am I doing? Why did I do this? Why did I sign up for this? But the beauty out of it is that once you come out there that you. You're out. You don't have to hide anymore. You don't have to be ashamed of anything about your story anymore. And you're. It's not about you. Like, you're literally. It's not about you. It's literally about you helping other people improve their life.
[00:36:04] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:36:05] Speaker B: Like, you're just being used. Like, your. Your story is literally being used for impact.
[00:36:11] Speaker A: I always say, I want to be a vessel. I'm just. I don't even say I want to
[00:36:14] Speaker B: be just a vessel.
[00:36:15] Speaker A: I'm just a vessel. Like, God, just flow me.
[00:36:18] Speaker B: Just a vessel. God, just flow. He was like, listen, just. Just. Just. Just talk. Just tell the truth.
Happen. Like, I'll do the rest. And so that's what I. That's what I tried to do is just. Because I can be such a scaredy cat about stuff, or I was such a scaredy cat. But that's what I. I yielded to. I yielded to the fact that I was realizing that what I was doing wasn't about me.
[00:36:42] Speaker A: It was bigger than me.
[00:36:42] Speaker B: It was about giving people hope. It's bigger than me.
[00:36:46] Speaker A: Bigger than you.
[00:36:47] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:36:47] Speaker A: That's good.
[00:36:48] Speaker B: Bigger than me.
[00:36:49] Speaker A: We went deep there.
[00:36:51] Speaker B: I know, right?
[00:36:53] Speaker A: Yes.
So my question. My next question was with building an incredible platform, like, building better nurses. What inspired you to start it?
And how has it grown into the movement that it is today for you?
[00:37:08] Speaker B: So what inspired me was Covid. I know everyone says that, but, yeah, Covid is when I started, I birthed my business because I wanted to help nurses. Like, I couldn't believe that at that time, I was. I was teaching in nursing college. I was teaching in an ADN program.
[00:37:24] Speaker A: Gotcha.
[00:37:25] Speaker B: And I remember the last time I saw my students.
Like, I literally didn't even get to see them in the last few weeks of clinical and class. Like, I just didn't see them again. And when I saw them again, they were nurses. Like, when I saw them again, they literally were nurses and they were working, and I didn't get to help them through the rest of the way. But when they saw me, they had so many questions. They had so many things. They had so much that they wished that they could have asked, that they would have known, can I call you? Can I this? And so that's where building better nurses started, because I wanted to be able to give that back. Like, how can I still mentor nurses? How can I still coaching coach nurses? How can I still give them resources? And why does this stop at nursing school? Like, why do we think that after a student is a nurse, they don't need help anymore? That's, like, not true.
[00:38:16] Speaker A: Need it the most afterwards.
[00:38:18] Speaker B: Need it the most.
[00:38:19] Speaker A: Needed the most.
[00:38:20] Speaker B: And I learned that they. They don't get as much help as we think they do in a lot of their residency programs, at least not during COVID times. They weren't getting what they needed. So I wanted to provide that. I was like, I want to provide a place where I can still impact nurses who want the mentorship, they want the help, they want the career growth, they want the professional development, but nobody is helping them. They're just literally out there on their own trying to figure it out. And whenever they ask a question, they get treated like a stupid student.
[00:38:53] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:38:54] Speaker B: Which I don't even agree with that. But they, they get, you know what I'm saying? They get treated like they're ignorant when they ask for help. So where's the safe space for them to grow and ask for help?
[00:39:03] Speaker A: That part.
[00:39:03] Speaker B: Why can't, why can't a nurse that's been a nurse for 35 years ask for help? Why can't they ask for mentorship? Why can't they ask for a coach? Why is this a bad thing? This is a good thing.
[00:39:12] Speaker A: It's a great thing. It's a great. These are great things. It's the quiet.
[00:39:17] Speaker B: Nurses should be worried about it.
[00:39:18] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:39:18] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:39:19] Speaker A: Right.
[00:39:19] Speaker B: We should want nurses to want to help.
We should want them to not be afraid to ask questions. To grow, to still have dreams 35, 40 years into the profession, to still want to do different things, to still want to contribute in different ways. These are good things.
[00:39:37] Speaker A: Yes, yes, these are good things.
[00:39:40] Speaker B: So that's where it birthed from and where it is now is, like I said, I've tried not to box myself in and just be a vessel.
So I do all the services. I do public speaking when people need it. I teach and do training workshops and do conferences and sessions when people need that. I do one on one coaching because I love it. I'll probably always do that service. And I still mentor. Like, I still try at least once a year to have a mentor client that isn't paying me at all, that I am truly just mentoring them on their journey. And a lot of times, yeah, those are my favorite because a lot of times those are the clients that they're not even a nurse yet. They haven't even gotten to nursing school yet. So I get to like really hold their hand from the very beginning. Kind of like how my cousin did to me.
[00:40:27] Speaker A: That's awesome.
And that's, it's like you're reciprocating what was provided to you, but you're, you're just passing the baton.
[00:40:35] Speaker B: Knowledge is transformational. Like, I don't feel like I lose anything by giving it away. I don't like gatekeeping. I don't believe in that. So I'm okay giving it away. Like, if they want to ask the questions, I'm okay answering them.
[00:40:49] Speaker A: Right, Right.
Another one of my sayings is, everyone who's connected to me will grow.
Like, as an individual, I'm always aiming to grow.
And so everyone connected to me will grow because that's what I desire. And there's enough room for all of us.
[00:41:10] Speaker B: For all of us.
[00:41:12] Speaker A: There's enough room for success for all of us. And I. And I truly believe that, you know, success will come because you. You don't have to be a good person to be successful. But how awesome is it when you.
When you are successful for the right reasons?
Like, even if success didn't come, I still want to be a person of impact. I still want to be a person who serves others in some way, in some capacity.
[00:41:40] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:41:41] Speaker A: Because God has just been too good to me to not.
No matter where this is true, what I'm doing.
And for one, I love nursing. And like you said, I think a lot of people who are really, really into pouring back into other nurses. I think Covid really did bring along a lot of visions for nurses who are compassionate and want to bring other nurses along and help preserve the nursing profession in a way, because I believe some people can get jaded, and I believe that coming through Covid, you also got some of the bad that comes with.
It's so lucrative.
[00:42:20] Speaker B: That comes with it.
[00:42:22] Speaker A: And it's like, no, bring it back.
[00:42:24] Speaker B: Even if you bring it back, it's still sacred.
[00:42:27] Speaker A: It's still sacred. And it's still sacred. You can still have individual argue that it's not a calling.
And I'm like, okay, even if. But even if you didn't, like, forever
[00:42:39] Speaker B: and ever and ever have to do
[00:42:40] Speaker A: the job well, like, still do it with excellence because somebody. Life.
[00:42:45] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:42:45] Speaker A: Is on the line, is in your hands. Yep.
[00:42:48] Speaker B: It's like when. When kids be playing church and the old people be like, okay, you gonna catch the spirit for real? You keep playing.
[00:42:55] Speaker A: Yes. That part, as I tell people, it's
[00:42:57] Speaker B: the same thing with nursing. Okay.
[00:42:59] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:42:59] Speaker B: You came in here playing. But stick around long enough, you're gonna get that patient. You gonna get. You stick around long enough, you're gonna get that patient that's gonna remind you why we take care of people with our whole full body.
[00:43:13] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:43:13] Speaker B: Our whole heart, our whole mind, our heart, our whole spirit. That patient gonna remind you why there are night shift nurses that pray all night over their patients?
[00:43:23] Speaker A: Yes.
Yeah.
[00:43:25] Speaker B: You're gonna have that patient that's gonna remind you that they are a human being and you are responsible for their life at their most vulnerable time, when no one else can help them but you.
[00:43:36] Speaker A: Yep. Yep. And there's something about you.
[00:43:40] Speaker B: Yeah. You better stop playing with nursing.
[00:43:43] Speaker A: Yes, yes. Look, you made me want to go back to the bedside, which I'm there, but I'm not there.
[00:43:49] Speaker B: Listen, listen.
[00:43:50] Speaker A: I'm telling you, I tell them I'm there, but I'm not there.
[00:43:53] Speaker B: That's what patients do. You'll get some patients that'll remind you why we really here. No matter what your paycheck give you, there's you is here for them.
[00:44:04] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:44:05] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:44:05] Speaker A: Yes. And that's why I always show up with a good attitude. They just like, you're happy. I was happy when I was at the bedside. I'm happy now even when I'm rounding. And because when I meet different family members and visitors or if I see patients being transported throughout the hospital for procedures on the testing, it's like, good morning. How are you? Like, I want to acknowledge them because, for one, we're here because of you.
And I'm pretty sure you don't want to be here as a patient.
[00:44:35] Speaker B: No.
[00:44:36] Speaker A: And for family, they have to show up because somebody is sick. Guess what? I am here working, and I, Lord's willing, get to go home.
I'm here for a totally different reason. So why not have a good attitude? Why not show some hospitality, have some patience and some grace toward them?
Because we can't control how people respond to difficult times.
What we may see.
[00:45:05] Speaker B: No, we can't.
[00:45:05] Speaker A: In that room, there's a lot going on outside of that room. At home, there's a lot of moving pieces when it comes to being ill and let alone hospitalized. So that's another thing that I really want new nurses to see as they come in and don't become so jaded or so caught up in just being task oriented, which that's easy. Let me just say that because of the electronic mark and all of that, but always once you. I call the door frame to the patient's room, I call that the threshold. Once you cross that threshold, that's the threshold.
Just be all in. Whether it's one minute or two minutes, just be all in. Because they can sense it.
Yes. Okay.
Do you have anything coming up that you would like to share with our listeners?
[00:45:56] Speaker B: Yes, a webinar with a colleague of mine. Her name is Nurse Reiko. And so she focuses on, like, deep spiritual healing for nurses going through, like, severe burnout, trauma, and we work well together because she loves to help them during that part and I love to help them when they're ready to really focus on their career goals. A webinar about both sides of how coaching can help you. How focusing on your mental health and your professional well being is the first part. And then you can focus on your professional development and reaching your goals.
[00:46:33] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:46:33] Speaker B: Let's see now. Later on this year, I'll be one of the guest speakers for the Georgia Nursing Association Conference that they're having in August. So really excited about that. I'll also be a guest speaker and doing a session at the Georgia Nursing Leaders Conference and that's in September. So yeah, just good things coming, you know, just excited. You know, my LinkedIn will be popping with all the stuff and I'll be post. If you send me clips from this, I'll be posting this and yeah, that's really what's coming up for me. And then, you know, always taking clients, always open for coaching. Love coaching clients. Love working one on one and really giving my time, being available for clients.
[00:47:17] Speaker A: Yes, ma'. Am. Now, is there a client story that you're able to share that just resonates with you that you're just like so proud of them?
[00:47:26] Speaker B: Let's see. There's. There, there's a lot. There's so many, I think, and some of them all collide together because a lot of times when I don't know why, but I always get the clients who really don't.
They, they don't have it all together yet. They don't really know what they want. They know they just want something different.
And so I think that's what I like about it is, that is, yeah, we get to start from scratch. We get to start with like a blank slate and really get to really get to design and redesign. And that's what my, my biggest coaching program that most people apply into is, my realign and redesign program where we do a true realignment of your career path, your professional well being, and then we truly redesign your nursing career the way you want it and you get to really speak what you want out of your career. Like no ceiling, no restrictions, like we're unlocking all the things that's been locking you up and we're really going to say the thing that you want to do with nursing and we're going to figure it out together.
[00:48:32] Speaker A: Yes. And you called it realign and redesign.
And this is a program.
Okay. And that's just one on one with
[00:48:41] Speaker B: clients or it is one on one.
[00:48:44] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:48:44] Speaker B: Yeah, it's still one on one. I know some coaches now do like the cohort thing. I'm not, I'm not really there yet. I think that's kind of specialized. I think you have to be careful kind of who you put you people with, especially with nurses. I like doing the one on one that still works for me and my clients. So it's just me and them working it out together.
[00:49:03] Speaker A: Awesome. I do a weekly mentor session and so it's just mainly it's a free, free weekly session on Thursday nights and it's open to like new nurses, nurses, students. And it's just really just letting them talk and really just, just get it out because they don't know what they don't know.
But also I think the main thing is just guiding the conversation and just thinking of practical ways to, of what their options could be. Because sometimes I think we can get so narrowed in our perspective, oh, this class is just hard. Or this instructor just makes me so upset and it's like, okay, well sit with that feeling.
But okay, but after that, what are some things that you could do differently because you can't, can't base your whole program experience or your experience because you have the goal.
That instructor may or may not still be there come next semester.
[00:50:01] Speaker B: But that's true.
[00:50:02] Speaker A: What about you? You can only be responsible for you, for you. Yeah. Just helping them, you know, leave with truth and with a hundred percent and just creating a safe space for them. Okay. Yeah. Let's see. How can our listeners connect with you?
[00:50:21] Speaker B: So they can find me on LinkedIn. They can just look up Naomi James, RN. They can go to my website, NaomiJames RN.com I actually love emails. So they can email me@infojames rn.com Gotcha.
I'm trying to think. I think on Instagram I'm Nurse Nay. Yeah, Nurse Nay.
[00:50:43] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:50:45] Speaker B: But yeah, those are the. I'm really most of the time LinkedIn, my website.
Email consultations are free. Even. Sometimes people just call me and it's not really for a consultation. They literally just have questions.
Like they just want a safe space to ask someone questions about nursing, about anything, about even like entrepreneurship. Like sometimes they're thinking about starting a business and they really want to know, like, how hard is this? And I tell them the truth. I'm going to tell you, Listen, on this 30 minute call, I'm going to tell you 10 things not to do as a solopreneur. Okay. And you better write them down. So I'm a call. Yeah, Like I Said I'm not a gatekeeper. People appreciate that. Nurses appreciate that. Like, one thing I tell people is don't try to be fake in front of no nurse. Okay? Don't do that part. Okay? I don't care. Good nurse, bad nurse, whatever category you want to be, put them in. Don't try to be fake in front of a nurse. Okay? They will call you out.
They know if you don't know what you're talking about. So the best thing you can do is just be transparent. Be open.
Stay in your lane. Stay in your expertise. If that's not your expertise, tell them that. Give them the gems on what you're good at. And then for me, I just love to be available for my clients.
[00:51:57] Speaker A: That's good. That's good. And I usually tell new nurses or nurses that's. That wants to transition into other roles. Like, just be transparent.
Be transparent.
[00:52:07] Speaker B: Yeah, just.
[00:52:08] Speaker A: And that's what we love about nursing. Like, there is so many different specialties. I know. CV have a heart attack, girl. We could talk about that all day long. Recovery. I got you.
[00:52:18] Speaker B: I got you now. But L and D. No.
Mm. Mm.
[00:52:23] Speaker A: Thank you.
[00:52:24] Speaker B: Nope. No baby.
[00:52:26] Speaker A: Let me call somebody for you.
[00:52:27] Speaker B: Babies make me cry. Still to this day, like, I. I don't really. Newborn babies make me cry. Yes. Like, literally, I cannot be around newborn babies. They make me cry like, boohoo.
[00:52:39] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:52:40] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:52:40] Speaker A: I thought I was sensitive.
Now I will cry over to.
But the babies. Newborn babies.
[00:52:53] Speaker B: That's why probably, like, my kids are like mommy's kids. Because literally all I did when they were babies is hold them all day. Like, I don't know what else to do. I'm sorry. You had, like, you're. I can't.
[00:53:01] Speaker A: I. Oh.
[00:53:02] Speaker B: All day.
[00:53:05] Speaker A: That's so sweet. That's a first.
[00:53:07] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:53:08] Speaker A: I haven't. I haven't had one make me cry. I do like the smell of, though, but, you know, it's kind of weird.
[00:53:13] Speaker B: Yeah, me too.
[00:53:14] Speaker A: Can I smell your baby?
[00:53:15] Speaker B: Cold.
[00:53:15] Speaker A: Cold.
[00:53:16] Speaker B: I'm sorry, I can't. I can't. Mm. Mm.
[00:53:20] Speaker A: That's so sweet. Now.
[00:53:22] Speaker B: Yeah. Babies make me cry.
[00:53:24] Speaker A: Now. What is one thing that you will want to leave? The new nurse listening in on this
[00:53:31] Speaker B: episode today, I would want them to know that nursing is a lifelong career and they can take their time and trust themselves and really be okay navigating different nursing spaces.
You don't have to do one thing. I've worked with so many nurses who have been in 15 different specialties, and they've loved them all for different reasons. So give yourself time. Take your time and enjoy being a nurse. Like, enjoy it. You should enjoy your career. You really should.
And if there's something that you're doing that you don't like, it is okay to do something else. And more importantly, do not be afraid to ask for help. I don't care how anybody treats you. Nobody should treat anybody bad for asking for help. Don't be afraid to ask for help. That's a good thing. That's a good trait. And you should keep that.
[00:54:28] Speaker A: That's good.
Thank you. Mrs. James, of course. Thank you for joining us today.
I could keep going, but I know we gotta wrap it up.
[00:54:38] Speaker B: I know.
[00:54:39] Speaker A: Thank you so much for joining us today.
[00:54:42] Speaker B: Of course.
[00:54:44] Speaker A: What a beautiful and powerful conversation with Mrs. Naomi James.
One thing I hope you take away from this episode is this. Your nursing journey does not have to look like anyone else's to still be meaningful, impactful, and full of purpose. Naomi definitely reminded us that nursing school may be hard, but hard does not mean impossible.
She reminded us that one person's belief in you can help you see a plan when everyone else sees a problem.
And she reminds us that as nurses, we are humans too, and sometimes our own life experiences will deepen our compassion and care for others.
And I love how she says there are no ceilings in nursing. You can pivot, you can pause, and you can realign and redesign. You can still use your license and your experience, your story, your compassion in a way that serves others and honors the life that you are building for yourself. Be sure to connect with Mrs. Naomi James and building better nurses to learn more about her coaching, speaking and advocacy work. And as always, stay connected with all one nurse for encouragement, mentorship, nursing resources, and faith field or faith based support.
Mrs. Naomi mentions the webinar in her conversation that she has already had, but if you are interested in getting the replay of it, then feel free to reach out to her via email and she will connect with you. But be sure to definitely get connected. You won't be disappointed. I feel a lot lighter after talking to Mrs. Naomi myself and I feel like a lot more grateful for where I am right now in my nursing journey. Of course, if this episode blessed you in any way, please be sure to share subscribe Leave a Review Reviews always help Podcast in the podcasting space and until next time, let your light shine.
